I've arrived safely in Anchorage. Flying in last night, there was a collective sigh of astonishment as we flew over the Chugach Range, mountains as far as we could see. The weather thus far has not been impressive. It's supposed to get warmer as the summer progresses, but it's pretty cold and cloudy now. In the first 24 hours we've been here we already had a few logistical hiccups, starting with our departure from the airport. We got a rental van, but didn't get the trailer, and instead piled fourteen adults, all of our luggage, and eight duffel bags of group gear into a fifteen passenger van together. We fit surprisingly comfortably, and loaded and unloaded the van (twice) with impressive efficiency.
We visited the Alaska Native Heritage Center today, which showcases exhibits, mainly authentic dwellings, from five of the major native groups found in Alaska. We also got to watch a little bit of a dance performance put on by high school students. One of the main goals of the center is to act not only as a museum, but to promote pride in the natives' own cultures, particularly among young people.
After dinner we took a hike. I didn’t really believe anyone when they talked about the
midnight sun. It was one of those things I decided I'd believe when I saw it, as so many things I'm told turn out to be gross exaggerations. But tonight we set out to summit a mountain at ten pm. We climbed Flattop Mountain in Anchorage for a fantastic view of the city, the Chugach Mountains and the surrounding area.
To be more accurate, though, it’s
not light out (the sun is not shining, like I interpreted midnight sun to mean), it’s just not dark. It's just hovering in that
twilight phase. It’s really trying to be
nighttime, but it's one in the morning now and it's just not making it.
At the top of Flattop Mountain (which looks exactly like it sounds) one intrepid staff-in-training braved the snow and slid some several hundred feet down a huge snow-covered slope. A few more brave souls followed, and I committed myself to hiking back down the difficult rocky trail fearing for the safety of my new camera (in addition to, or as a cover for just being a wuss). In the end, I ended up being the only one to not slide down the mountain and climbed down the first part alone, during which I had plenty of time to regret my decision and criticize myself for not being more adventurous like I want to be.
We got back to the trailhead at a quarter to one. By far the latest I have ever, or probably will ever, climb a mountain. It was an interesting experience hiking at midnight, and I'm glad I've done it, but just because it's light out does not mean we should all go take a hike. If we keep doing things this late just because we can ("as a matter of fact, there are enough hours in the day"), it is going to be a very long summer.
So that was just a quick update, and I'll add the road trip stuff and more of Alaska when I can, which will probably be not often, if not because of the unpredictable internet connection, then because I don't have enough time.
